When Liu Jiu and the others returned, Bao Ni had already kneaded the dough and chopped the filling.

"Xuanyu, call your mom and the others. They should be done with their work by now."

Bonnie had received a call from Gu Ye earlier, but Gu's sister-in-law hadn't called back, which meant they had been busy.

"Okay, Auntie, I'll call right now."

Gu Xuanyu hung up his clothes and started dialing.

"Hello, is this Xuanyu?"

Sister-in-law Gu had just arrived home not long ago. They've been very busy this year; Gu Ze is busy, and she's not idle either.

After arriving in the south, she worked at the Women's Federation. Although she wasn't the top leader, her workload was still considerable.

This year, the Spring Festival was very busy with various tasks, and Gu Ze was constantly on the go, especially after that meeting, he was practically never at all.

"Happy New Year, Mom! Happy Chinese New Year, Mom!"

Gu Xuanyi also squeezed next to the phone, wanting to hear his mother's voice.

This was the first time he had been separated from his parents for so long. Although he said he didn't miss them, he actually missed them a lot.

"What did you have for dinner? Who cooked it?"

Sister-in-law Gu didn't dare ask the children if they missed their parents, for fear she wouldn't be able to hold back her tears.

“We had ten dishes for dinner, made with Panax notoginseng. My second uncle was on duty today and didn’t come back. My aunt has prepared the dough, and we’ll make dumplings in a bit.”

Gu Xuanyi rambled on and on, afraid that he would cry and worry his mother.

"Sanqi is so amazing, you should learn from him. Boys who can cook will have an easier time finding a wife in the future."

Sister-in-law Gu could also tell that Xuan Yi's voice sounded a bit off, so she changed the subject to something light.

"Mom, I'm still young. You should worry about my brother. Lots of girls like him at school."

Gu Xuanyi is currently going through puberty and can't stand hearing anything about his wife. He shoved the microphone into his brother's hand and quickly ran away.

"Mom, Xuanyi is embarrassed and ran away. We're fine, how are you doing over there?"

"We're doing alright, just a bit busy. Your dad hasn't come back yet."

Gu Xuanyu is already a sophomore in college and has learned a lot about many things. His father's job is not easy, but if he does it well, he will achieve results.

"So, are you making dumplings?"

"No more dumplings, we don't eat them here for Chinese New Year. Xuanhao is already asleep. I'll wait for your dad to come back, then we'll wash up and go to sleep."

Sister-in-law Gu isn't hungry, just tired. She's been walking around all day, looking at various places. She's left her children with the neighbors.

"Okay, we can sleep after we finish eating dumplings. Take care of yourselves and don't overwork yourselves. Xuanyi and I are both fine."

Gu Xuanyu heard the kitchen start rolling out dough, said goodbye to his mother, and hung up the phone. During the summer vacation, he and Xuanyi would go to visit their parents.

In the kitchen, Sanqi prepared the dumpling filling, while Liujiu and the others had already started wrapping them.

"I shuffled five coins to see who can get them."

Bonnie took the washed coins and said she would wrap them in the dumplings later.

"I don't want to eat it!"

Sanqi shook his head. One of his teeth was loose; it was the last one he had, as all the others had been replaced.

"Sanqi, are you afraid of knocking out your molar?" Gu Xuanyi knew that Sanqi had a loose tooth.

"Yes, this is the last one."

Sanqi dislikes surprises; he still hopes his last tooth can leave him normally.

With so many people, the dumplings were made very quickly.

Bonnie also learned some information about Sister-in-law Gu and the others from Xuanyu. In short, they were very busy!

Two large bamboo steamers filled the dumplings with thin wrappers and generous fillings of pork, chives, and shrimp.

After 10 o'clock, firecrackers crackled and popped in the courtyard. Bonnie asked a few children to go out and set off firecrackers as well, and then she started cooking dumplings to welcome the gods.

The water boiled, the dumplings were put into the pot, and soon they floated to the surface.

Their round bellies face up, one after another, it's quite interesting.

When boiling dumplings, you need to add water three times. This was passed down from her mother, and she doesn't know if there's any scientific basis for it.

Bonnie didn't understand either, but she strictly followed the instructions. Moreover, before plating, she couldn't help but pick up a piece to taste, afraid that it wasn't cooked through.

Eating dumplings with a three-ingredient filling in the dead of winter is quite nice, after all, there aren't that many greenhouse vegetables available at this time.

After the firecrackers downstairs went off, the children came back, and Bonnie's dumplings were almost ready to be cooked.

"Quick, wash your hands and let's eat dumplings!"

Bonnie called out, "This is the last meal of the year. Tomorrow will be 1979."

"It smells so good! Winter chives taste better than summer ones!"

Gu Xuanyi ate one and praised it highly.

"Things are valued for their rarity; being able to eat chives in winter is a matter of luck."

Liu Jiu also thought it was delicious, especially fresh and flavorful.

"Mom, are you leaving dumplings for Dad?"

I ate one of the Panax notoginsengs, and it was really delicious, not greasy at all.

"I've saved them. You don't need to get up early tomorrow morning. You can cook the dumplings after you wake up."

Bonnie chopped a lot of filling, and Sanqi has already prepared the filling. Tomorrow, I'll just chop some chives and mix them in.

"ah!"

Sanqi was so preoccupied with remembering that he hadn't left any dumplings for his father that he forgot to be careful of the coin. He ate the coin and tasted blood, and his molar fell out.

"Sanqi, did you find a coin in your food?"

Bonnie, looking at Sanqi's expression, figured it must have been something stuck in her teeth.

"Waaah..."

Sanqi had a dumpling, a coin, and a tooth in his mouth; I knew this would happen.

Gu Xuanyu got up and tore off a large piece of toilet paper for him. Sanqi took it and spat out what was in his mouth.

Everyone saw dumplings, coins, and a big tooth.

Sanqi has already gone to rinse his mouth. He looks so pathetic, it ruins his image.

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